The Growth of A Magical Connection
by imaginecreatebefall
Summary: Following the continuing growth between Emma and Regina starting in Neverland.
1. Chapter 1

(Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or any of their characters. I'm just a fan looking to explore.)

_So I've been away from here for a long time, and this is my first Once Upon A Time fic. I couldn't resist, the character Regina has captivated me with her magic lol. Anyway, I thought I'd try something new and send out a new chapter after every new episode from a perspective not seen on-screen. (All of them, of course, will have Emma and Regina) I may have to juice it up more than they would probably show on TV eventually, which may be a challenge, but that's why we're all here right? Anyway, let me know how I do, especially if there are any silly mistakes I missed . Hope you enjoy._

_(Also mostly a T-rated fic at the moment, will move it's way to M at some point)_

* * *

Emma, Regina, Neal, and Rumpelstiltskin made their was through the brush to the shore with skull rock staring them in the face, but of course, there was no other boat in sight. Regina masked her panic as she gazed down the shore lines, looking for something, anything to get them across.

"There," she shouted discovering another boat a good ways down. She went to bring up her hand to retrieve the boat, but Rumpelstiltskin caught her arm before she had a chance to raise it.

"Don't, if Pan senses any magic close to him he may hurry with his plans for Henry. Save everything you have until we're there. Bae and I will go fetch the boat while you and Miss Swan stay here and make sure no more unwanted company comes to try to delay us.

"Fine," she answered, still not happy Rumple had come along with them. This imp was always out for himself, no matter how much he claimed otherwise, but the more she thought about it, it was probably better for him to be near her so she could keep a close eye on him.

Regina took a deep breath as she turned around and caught Emma pacing back and forth while taking momentary glances toward the unsettling woods.  


"No one's going to come." Regina stated, as she shoved her hands in her pockets.

"How do you know?" Emma asked, not masking her concern as well as the formal Queen.

"I've gotten a good feel for these dirty, ungrateful children over the pass few days. Those who weren't at Pan's camp are nowhere near us, so don't worry. You might get that magical intuition one day if you start concentrating better during my training's." Emma stared at her and smirked before turning back to face skull rock.

"What was that look for?" Regina asked taking a few steps up to the so-called Savior until she was standing over her.

"Nothing," she answered casually, but Regina wasn't in the mood for games. She took a glance down the shore line and saw that Neal and Rumple had reached the boat, but were trying to remove a snake from inside it. Seeing Rumple trying to capture the wiggly creature without using magic made her chuckle inside, but she quickly brought her attention back to the blond nuisance in front of her.

"Can you please tell me what that evil grin of yours was about?" Emma glanced over her shoulder as Regina emphasized the word evil and lifted her brow. Although she chose not to make a smart ass remark regarding which one of them was truly evil, it didn't stop her from taking another shot at her.

"Please?" But the cocky way in which Emma questioned her, aggravated Regina, and she threw her hands up as she went to walk away.

"Oh stop it Regina, I was just messing around." Emma started heading toward her. "Did anyone tell you how we captured the shadow?"

"No," Regina responded coldly, annoyed that she wouldn't just answer the damn question. Thankfully, Emma knew her I don't have time for this shit look and went on.

"We had to catch it in that coconut candle Neal had made." Regina motioned her along, wanting her to get to her smirk part of the conversation. Emma laughed slightly, which was probably the first time she had laughed since they arrived on the godforsaken island.

"We were in Dark Hollow, and Neal took out his lighter to light the candle. Of course, he couldn't' get it to work, so Hook butted in and they both went on a testosterone battle to see which manly man could get the candle lit. Now while they were bickering like children, the shadow came and created duplicates to try to destroy us. The two of them were trying to fight off the shadows minions before they ripped off their own shadows, but were having zero success, leaving me alone on the ground with the candle, the lighter lost in the scuffle."Regina cocked her head in amusement, already knowing where Emma was going with the rest of the story, but she thought she let Emma finish, enjoying the cocky grin on her face that was expanding as she neared the end of her tale.

"So there I was, alone, with Neal and Hook slowly being killed, the shadow rallying down on me, and then with one flick of my wrist; fire."

"Well, isn't that something," Regina replied, giving Emma a minuscule satisfied smile. She didn't not want the perky blonde's head getting too big. Personally, she was impressed that Emma was able to create the fire in those circumstance, especially since she was having such difficulties doing so with her dim-witted parents as her audience, but maybe that was the real problem. It wasn't that she couldn't do it with them there, maybe subconsciously Emma was nervous about how her parents were perceiving this new training, conducted by their arch-enemy.

Regina took another look down to see how far off Neal and Rumple were. They were finally moving the boat back toward them, but, of course, as soon as she started mentally preparing herself for their journey across the questionable waters, she heard Neal shriek and jump back. Apparently, there were more snakes.

Regina wanted to kill them right then and there, too much time was being wasted, but she had come this far without hurting or killing any of her traveling companions, she guessed she could keep her cool a little bit longer.

Regina turned back to Emma who was staring hopelessly at Skull Rock. The two of them had come a long way since Emma had first arrived in Storybrooke, and although part of her still hated that Henry's birth mother wiggled back into his life, she knew how much she loved him. The pain of not being able to get to him sooner was sprawled all over the blonde's face, it was exactly how she felt. They both needed another distraction while they waited for the two imbeciles to get back with the boat.

Regina stepped alongside Emma, crossing her arms. She hated that she was told not to use magic at the moment and needed to keep her eager hands hidden away.

"So what was with the male testosterone part of your story?" Emma rolled her eyes.

"Nothing," she answered again.

"Really?" Regina mocked, this part of her tale was obvious as well. "So which one is it?" Emma looked up at her unresponsive. "Oh don't give me that look. Which one of these unworthy fools are you going to pick to be your knight in tacky clothing?"

"Unworthy huh?" Emma shot back, with another small chuckle.

"Oh come on Emma. Neal, although not intentionally was the reason why you went to, and gave birth in, may I add in prison. And Hook, oh unholy magic where do I begin with that one?"

"You're one to talk." Emma responded.

"We're not talking about me, dear. We're talking about two men who might possibly be a part of our son's life; as a male role model. I guess Neal has the up on that, since he's technically Henry's father." But all Emma did was roll her eyes.

"Don't give me that, I have every right to know which one of these fools you're going to pick, Henry's my son as much as he is yours." Emma looked over at her annoyed, shaking her head a few times, but finally answering.

"If you must know who I _chose_, it was Henry." Regina couldn't hold back her proud villainous smile.

"Wise choice, there may be hope for you yet, Savior."

"Coming from you, wow that means a lot." Emma replied a little too sarcastically.

"You know what Miss Chosen One, your attitude could use some tweaking. You're not the only one living in hell at the moment." Regina walked away not giving Emma's guilty face another look. She was trying to keep her nasty comments to a minimum that whole week, and with the Charmings as her companions that was one of her hardest test she had to date. Didn't she deserve a little credit?

"Regina?" Emma called out as she came up behind her.

"Forget it," she snapped back not giving the so-called Savior the satisfaction of feeling less guilty.

"Seriously Regina," Emma went on as she reached out touching her shoulder. Regina spun around instantly from the contact. "Sorry, " Emma said, eyes wide and taking a step back. "I guess I should know better than to infringe upon your personal space." Regina just stared at her, unsure of how to respond. The physical contact, especially that out of concern wasn't something she felt a lot these days. She took a glimpse toward Neal and Rumple, thanking to herself that they were finally moments away.

"I'm fine," she said, hoping they could just move on from there. She could still feel the imprint of Emma's touch on her shoulder. It had opened something inside her, she didn't think existed anymore, but she nonchalantly shook that feeling away, there was something a hell of a lot more important for them to deal with at the moment. "Let's just go get our son and go home."


	2. Chapter 2

_So this may be a little more difficult than I thought it was going to be, but I wanted to try writing an off-screen perspective after every episode, so that's what I'm going to continue to do. Thinking I may have to throw in a fun spicy one shot during the Christmas break too. _

* * *

As the Jolly Roger sailed into the sky, the relief of finally leaving Neverland was instantly felt in the air. Everyone aboard the Jolly Roger started to get settled into their own small nook areas of the pirate ship conversing of all the wondrous days to come. Regina wanted to check in on Henry again, but when she glanced up, Snow and Charming were now gushing over him and the last thing she wanted was to suffocate him from the constant attention he was getting. Although it pained her, she could wait a little longer before checking on him. The important thing was that Henry was alive, and back where he belonged.

Regina took a glance around the Jolly Roger and rolled her eyes. With all these last-minute Lost Boys as their new passengers, there was barely any room to walk, let alone a decent place to be alone to digest everything that had happened in Neverland, especially the last few hours. Regina walked around and decided to chance going below deck to the back gallery of the ship, and to her happy surprise, no one was there.

Regina made a small ball of fire for some additional light, and smiled down at it before flicking it over to some of the candles. She was grateful that her magic could be used for good more than evil recently. At the same time, she couldn't help but feel some comfort from the darkness out the back gallery window, it helped her to relax and focus. She took a deep breath thinking of where she was going to go from there. The last several months was like one continuous roller coaster ride; Emma breaking the curse, only to get suck through a portal. Henry not wanting to be a part of the evil in her life, forcing her to stop using magic. Of course, that didn't work, and she almost lost her son entirely after her mother arrived in Storybrooke. Her mother... a constantly painful subject. She was still both sad and relieved that she was now gone, but the loneliness of losing Cora made her desperate. First the curse to make Henry love her, then the trigger, which in turn almost killed her if it wasn't for Emma. Emma, the thought of the Savior brought a confused smile to her face. She had never met someone so challenging. There was a lot more to Emma than she originally thought and as much as the silly Savior got on her nerves, she intrigued her.

All of Regina's thoughts however came to a halt when she heard the creak of someone coming down the stairs and she spun around annoyed.

"There you are," said the all too familiar voice.

"Yes, here I am," Regina responded, wondering what the Savior could possibly want from her now. Henry was saved and the shadow was magically bound into flying the ship back to Storybrooke, what else was she needed for?

"I can leave if you want to be alone." Emma said, clearly noticing the puzzling look on Regina's face.

"No, that's fine. You can stay if you want." She responded, not realizing she wanted the company.

"So, how are you feeling?" Emma asked, walking up next to her with her arms crossed.

"Whole, at least at the moment." Emma hummed.

"Me too."

Regina glanced over at her, her eyes searching Emma's face to see if she could figure out the real reason of why the Savior decided to come looking for her.

"So, what now?" Regina asked, still focused on the woman before her.

"What do you mean?" Emma looked up and stared directly into Regina's eyes, causing a shudder down her spine. It was like the Savior could read all of her thoughts, and feel her every emotion running through her. Regina, not feeling entirely comfortable with that idea, removed her glance so she could recompose herself to her usual strong stature.

"With Henry." Emma smiled, making Regina even more unsettled.

"I think after everything that has happened we can all work out something. Henry needs both his mothers in his life." Regina let a small smile shine through and nodded. "And Neal too." Then she had to go and ruin it.

"There's no way, I'm splitting up my time with Henry between three different parents." Emma raised her hands to try to calm her down.

"I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that if Neal and Henry want to spend some time together, they should be able to do so."

"Oh," Regina responded, still not entirely happy.

"Come on Regina, it's not Neal's fault. He had no idea he had a son, and you know all about his past. There's no way he's going to abandon our son. If Henry wants him to be a part of his life, he's going to give him that. But he's also not going to steal him away from us."

"Fine."

Regina turned and looked back out at the night sky, thinking Emma was going to leave, but the savior didn't move. Instead, she stood there in silence, taking in the magnificent view with her. Again, Regina began to feel a bit of unsettlement in her stomach. What else could Emma possibly want? There was no way she could stand there in silence without knowing what Emma was thinking. She needed to say something to rid the confusing butterflies that began to develop.

"I enjoyed that snarky regret you voiced to Pan." Emma smirked.

"About not being able to take a better shot at him?"

"That's the one. It's probably better if you leave all the dirty work to me though. We don't want to tarnish that Savior label of yours." Regina glanced over as Emma laughed feeling another warm sensation building in her body.

"If the people of Storybrooke knew half of the things I've done in my past, that lovely imagine would come spiraling down rather quickly." Now Regina's smile grew.

"Don't worry dear; those secrets are safe with me." Emma stared at her, mouth opened. She clearly, wanting to say something else, but only smiled and softly shook her head. Regina knew Emma was aware of the extensive and illegal checks she had done on her past when she first came to Storybrooke. She had let a few of her secrets slip, but kept some of the juicier ones saved away for a rainy day if she was ever so desperate. That feeling of course was beginning to drift away. She no longer felt that threat Emma presented, but something else, even though she wasn't ready to admit what that was just yet.

The silence again was starting to make things uncomfortable, but this time Emma was the one to break it.

"So, you really don't have any regrets?" Emma asked causing a familiar grin to crawl across Regina's face.

"You were standing right next to me when I said it, weren't you?" As much fun as it was to tap into her old cocky self, she knew Emma could read right through her. Regina turned around and took a seat with her back against the window. "You know, you can feel bad about some of the decisions you've made in life without regretting them. There is a difference between the two. Like I said, every decision I've made no matter how cruel or stomach wrenching lead me to Henry. Therefore, I wouldn't change a damn thing. I can live with that. Can you?" As she ended with the question she looked up at Emma with conflicting eyes. Emma gave her a sad smile, then turned and sat down next to her.

The seat wasn't very big, so their legs were grazing as they sat there in more silence. Regina's initial reaction to human contact was to flinch away, but she halted that instinct for a change, welcoming the contact.

"I just hope that those days are behind you." Emma let out in a whisper. Regina went to look up at her, but then decided to stare down toward her leg instead. Although she was starting to feel a new level of comfort with the Savior, she wasn't sure if she could handle being that close, face to face.

"I would love to say that it is, but with my track record, who knows?" Her response had a slither of sadness that triggered another startling response from Emma, as she reached down and placed her hand down on top of hers. Regina did her best to catch her breath unnoticed, as her eyes went to their hands. She couldn't believe how close the two of them had become, and as much as it started to warm her heart, it frightened her as well.

"Henry believes in you. You may still make some mistakes Regina, but not to the extreme of what you used to."

"I wish I could believe that." Emma looked over at her, but Regina was still too hesitant to meet her gaze. Her mind and heart had already been zigzagging out of control these past few weeks; she didn't think she could take anymore at the moment.

Emma gave Regina's hand a light squeeze before standing up to leave.

"This may come as a surprise, but I believe in you too Regina." Regina couldn't stop her eyes from meeting Emma's this time, but no words were able to fall from her mouth. Again the Savior was good at reading her and gave her a closed mouth smile as she walked away. Regina sighed as she fell back against the window. How was she going to handle this? Emma more than anyone had shown her patience, and understanding these past few days, and although most of it had to do with Henry, there was something else there, she just hoped she wouldn't ruin it before it had a chance to really grow into something special.

* * *

_The internet went out on me twice during my read overs, so if anything is too choppy or off let me know, I'll be going over it again tomorrow evening._


	3. Chapter 3

_So I'm having a lot of fun with these Once Upon a Time fics right now. Here's my off-screen perspective from 3x10s episode. Hope everyone's enjoying them so far. If anything seems off or doesn't fit let me know. (Traveling this week, so my read thrus were sporadic.) I value all opinions good, bad, or neutral. I try to keep the ladies close to who the characters are on screen, but of course slowly, but surely will need juice it up some._

* * *

As Regina and Henry made their way to the vault, Regina began recalling the conversation she had with Emma the other night on the Jolly Roger.

"This may come as a surprise, but I believe in you too Regina." Was the last thing Emma said to her right before leaving the back gallery of the ship. Regina let out a huff as she and Henry walked, causing her son to glance up at her, but Regina just smiled and shook it off like it was nothing. As soon as Henry's focus was off her though she quietly recalled that last line Emma had said to her over and over again, not able to let it go.

"Apparently, that was a load of crap," Regina said to herself. "All it took was for Henry to choose me for one night and all that old resentment the all mighty Savior had for me came flying back." Regina tried not to let it bother her as she started to inform Henry of where they were going and why, but she couldn't fully shake her thoughts off his other mother. The other night, after Emma left, Regina began to think that maybe their was a special friendship lingering between her and Emma, and heaven knows she could use a friend. Regardless of the strong, independent front she put on for all to fear in Storybrooke, she was lonely, immensely lonely. But, she did have Henry back, and things were a lot better than she ever thought they would be with him. Then again, things seemed to be too good to be true with Henry. Regina could tell something was different with her son, but she just couldn't quite figure out what it was, nor did she want to question it. Her son needed her, something she longed for so much recently, and that was all she cared about now, or at least that was what she tried to tell herself.

Once Regina and Henry were settled in the vault, she took a glance around at all her potions, books, and hidden curses. No wonder Emma went back on what she said, everything or at least almost everything she had in her vault was used to cause heartache, destruction, and pain. The Evil Queen, that title, no matter how hard she would try to change, would always be with her. Sure, Snow told the town of all the good she had done to rescue Henry and get them all back to Storybrooke, but like everything else in Regina's life, she knew better, it wouldn't last.

Regina looked on at Henry, no doubt in her mind that something was wrong with her son, but after everything he had been through, what else did she or anyone else expect, especially now that the shadow was reeking havoc on the town. He was still a young boy after all, so of course it would have an effect on him. Regina knew she needed to stop focusing on all the negative that seemed to always travel through her mind, but it was so hard sometimes, but as she watched her son, who like her seemed to be lost, she knew she needed to keep trying at making her life better. Maybe she overreacted with Emma. After all, the Savior had her own lost look on her face right before she and Henry had left them for the vault. Originally, Regina just made it out to be that Emma was bitter once again because Henry chose her to keep him safe, but she knew the Savior better than most people, there was something else there, she just refused to see it as anything but jealously at the time, because of Henry.

To take her mind off things, Regina wanted to focus on something happy, so she closed her eyes and began to recall the dream she had the other night on the Jolly Roger after Emma left her.

_"Regina this is delicious," Emma said mouth partly full as she pointed to her plate of lasagna with her fork."_

_"Mom's lasagna is pretty much the greatest thing you'll ever eat." Henry added. The blonde glanced up and gave Regina a closed mouth smile, causing a fair amount of blush to sprout across her face._

_"Thank you." Regina finally replied adoring their little family dinner._

_"No, thank you for inviting me."_

_"Well I figured Henry's moms should spend some quality time together as a family. You know, now that I'm not trying to destroy you." Emma laughed._

_"Yeah, but I knew you secretly loved me underneath all that hate. I mean for someone who wanted me gone, you sure did find a lot of excuses to keep me at your beck and call."_

_"You were the sheriff."_

_"Which you made me."_

_"For Henry."_

_"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Regina rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop her smile from shining through._

_"Mom, may I be excused?" Henry asked, now that there was a pause in their back and forth._

_"You don't want any apple pie?" Regina asked as Henry began to stand up._

_"Apple?" Emma questioned nervously._

_"Not that kind dear, relax." Henry smiled as he walked over to give Emma a hug goodnight before making his way over to Regina._

_"Maybe tomorrow, I'm actually pretty tired."_

_"Ok sweetheart, I'll be up to check on you in a little bit."_

_"Ok," Henry replied hugging her tightly before running up the stairs._

_"He seemed to be in hurry," Emma said as she stood up to start clearing the table._

_"I think he wants us to bond more," Regina replied before turning back around to face Emma. "What do you think you're doing?"_

_"Cleaning up," Emma answered like it was obvious._

_"You don't have to do that."_

_"We're bonding right?" Regina laughed as she picked up the few remaining dishes and followed Emma into the kitchen._

_They kept to normal conversation as they cleaned, both taking momentary glances at the other one, taking in and enjoying their new, nonthreatening relationship._

_"So, would you like a slice of pie?" Regina asked after all the dishes were done. _

_"No offense, but I haven't eaten an apple since Henry ate that turnover." Regina looked away, not comfortable with discussing that particular topic. "Regina it's ok, it's in the past. Frankly, so much has happened since then, I can't even believe we were at each others throats like that anymore." Regina let out a small grunt._

_"Really? I can recall a number of times you came at me after that." Emma glanced over at her as she dried her hands, and tossed the dish towel over her shoulder._

_"The Archie thing?" Regina looked up at her, but quickly removed her glance. "I'm sorry about all of that. I was wrong. If I had just trusted my gut, maybe we would have discovered the truth about what really happened sooner. Instead, I lashed out at you, and by the time the truth was revealed Cora had already come into town and turned everything upside down." Emma paused and looked over at her, but Regina was doing her best not to pay attention to what Emma was saying as she made her way out of the kitchen. Emma following like an obedient dog. "I really am sorry Regina."_

_"It's fine," she replied as she guided Emma to the door._

_"Oh, I almost forgot, here's you're towel." Emma said removing the towel from her shoulder and snapping it lightly at her. Regina swiped that towel from the Savior's hand and tossed it at the table smiling to herself, knowing Emma was trying the best she could to lighten the mood._

_"Well, overall I think this was a pretty successful evening," Emma said, standing in the doorway._

_"Yes, I would have to agree."_

_"Sorry about the downer part at the end."_

_"I said it was fine," Regina replied crossing her arms. Once again, Emma let her closed mouth smile out and went to turn to leave, but instead of walking away, she hesitated and turned back around._

_"Everything ok?" Regina asked, but before she could say anything else, Emma flung her arms around her. Regina froze at first, but slowly started to ease up, and brought her arms around the Savior. Emma only tightening her hold as Regina's hands reached her back._

_The hug was a lot longer than Regina thought is was going to be, but she didn't pull back, instead she let out everything she had been keeping a tight hold inside her; letting all her anger, reserves, and grudges go and taking in the sweet smells of Emma's natural scent. Emma finally began to pull away, but she kept her face close, gazing into Regina's eyes. The nerves in Regina's stomach began to spiral out of control, and as her eyes searched Emma's she could feel the Savior moving in, unsure of why, but still coming in closer, and closer..._ then her eyes shot open. Something in Regina's present forced her to abandon her confusing, yet delightful dream.

Henry was looking at her things in her vault too closely and began to smile. Regina needed to know what was going through her son's mind now, not be daydreaming about something that would most likely never happen, but those images, along with Henry's over doing love invaded her brain. She wanted so badly to be that better person, for Henry, and for Emma, whether she would ever admit that to her, but before she even had a chance to realize that those thoughts were blocking her judgment, she was hugging her son, then everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

_Not gonna lie. I'm still recovering from the winter finale. And oh so many ideas flooded my mind with these two lovely ladies. But not a lot of time to get a good deal "off-screen" perspectives with all that running around. So I had to cut in between a few different scenes. Hope this works._

* * *

Regina stayed back in her vault for a minute to regroup a little as the others headed outside. She cursed herself for letting her heart block her magnificent mind from Pan's trickier of switching bodies with Henry, but she knew if she had to do it all over again there was no doubt in her mind that she would have reacted the same way. Regina had fought so hard for vengeance for so long she had almost forgot how powerful love truly was, and although she was mad to have let her guard down, her heart would have guided her to the truth of Pan's trickery eventually. But again, going back over everything that had happened was pointless now, what was done, was done.

"Regina," the soothing voice of the only other person she could allow to care for her called out.

"Yes."

"There isn't much time."

"I know, I'll be right behind you." Emma let her infamous closed mouth smile give Regina some peace as the once Evil Queen took one last glance around her vault. All this pain, all this destruction, all this heartbreak, done by her hand over countless years, but once again she thought of Henry.

"No regrets," she whispered to herself as she turned her back on her past and made her way to the group waiting for her outside.

* * *

Henry as Pan lied down in Mr. Gold's shop to prepare for the switch back to his body as they all looked on. There was no doubt in Regina's mind that the cost to destroy this particular curse along with hers was going to be great, but no matter what the cost, she was willing to take it, for Henry, and to her continuous surprise, for Emma as well.

Once the switch was made, Emma called for Regina and they sprang from Mr. Gold's shop, following Granny's sense of smell to their sons location. Snow, Charming, Neal, and Hook following as well, but Emma took Regina's arm as they began to run to keep her close to her. Just the touch of Emma now sent a jolt of emotions through Regina's mind and body, but she couldn't be distracted by the Savior now, they had to find Henry, then stop the curse. No matter how badly Regina wanted to figure out what was going on will all these new feelings building inside her, now was not the time.

"It's me," their son's voice called out running toward them.

"It worked." Regina's heart melted in a completely different way as she and Emma embraced their son, neither one of them letting him, or each other go, even after Henry informed them of just being by their side. Neither woman loosened their hold for another moment. Their family was together, their family was whole, and both Regina and Emma were going to soak in each and every second of this moment, no matter how brief it would most likely be.

Henry, of course, finally forced them out of their happy ending and handed Emma the scroll.

"It's up to you now," the Savior said as she handed the scroll over to Regina. And with one touch of the scroll along with the sensation of Emma's finger grazing over her hand, once again, everything in Regina's world went black.

The last thing Regina heard as she fell to the ground was Emma calling out her name, then a cataclysmic effect of images flashed through her mind. Every significant moment of Regina's past ran through her memory first. The struggles she had with her mother Cora, even before reaching her teenage years, her father loving her, but never enough to stick up to Cora as Regina went into her teens. The images then went to Daniel... Daniel, her first love, the man she used to justify every horrible thing she had done from his death on. She could see how wrong she was in doing that, but the pain of losing her first love clouded all the good in her for years, until Henry came into her life. And with that, new imagines flooded in. There was more beauty and love entering Regina's world trying to slash away at all her hate and suffering, but Regina did not make it easy. She loved her son more than words could describe, but how she went about showing it wasn't always good, and Regina could see now why Henry thought her love for him was not true, and why he went to find Emma. The Savior was next to come into her mind, confusing Regina. Yes, Emma was growing to be more important to her, especially these last few weeks. The two of them were beginning to build something beautiful and strong, but why these images of her now? Was Emma truly that important to her past, or was this her future now being flashed before her?

The answer came to Regina next. She saw what needed to be done to free Storybrooke of the curse, and the pain piling up inside her was more than she thought she could bear. Letting them go. Yes, them. Henry and Emma would have to leave, it was the only way they would have a fighting chance to ever reunite. The Savior, once again, needed to be tested and forced to continue what she was born to do.

"Regina," she heard her name being cried out again, but she chose to ignore Emma's calls once more as her future was now being shown to her. A future that took her on many different paths. Pain, of course plowing back into all of them, but how she chose to handle that pain would be the ultimate challenge and deciding factor to her upcoming life. And if handled wisely, Regina could end up with a bright and beautiful future of her own.

There were two particular paths that stood out more than the rest. One showed a handsome outlaw with a kind heart, but this path only had a few windy turns to travel through. It brought Regina some happiness, but it was missing something, Henry. But not just Henry, it was missing her family. A family she never thought she wanted, but as Regina walked through the front door of this final path, into her possible future home, all their faces shined brightly upon her. Snow was there with Charming, with their second child. Rumple was there with Belle and Neal at his side, breaking their conversation briefly to greet her gleefully. Then she saw Henry, an older teenage Henry, but still very much a boy at heart as he came running over to hug her. After their embrace, Henry made Regina close her eyes as he guided his mother into the kitchen.

"We made your favorite," Henry said before giving her permission to open her eyes, but when Regina opened them, her eyes didn't fall on the meal being prepared for her, they landed on the cleaned up blonde before her, the woman's smile larger than life as she too, practically ran over to greet her.

"I'm so glad you're home," Emma said, not giving Regina any time to answer, before the Savior took her face with both hands and brought Regina in for a long, deep, passionate kiss. The chemistry between them creating a flicker of magic to crackle into the air as Regina's arms wrapped around the love in front of her, tightening her hold as Emma continued to show her how much she loved her.

"Moms," Henry bellowed, shaking his head. "There are other people here." Regina and Emma pulled away and simultaneously reached out for his chin, causing a small arousal of giggles between them for being so in-sync.

"It's important to show the person you love how much they mean to you, because you'll never know what days will be your last." Emma stated, Regina's eyes refusing to leave the Saviors as she spoke to their son.

"I'm fully aware of that. I'll let everyone know dinner will be ready in a few minutes so you can continue that end of days line of thinking as your excuse to be overly loving." Henry replied, as he continued to shake his head, but let a small adoring smile out at them before walking away.

Henry closed the large dining room doors as he left Regina and Emma alone in the kitchen, and the Savior, not wasting any time reached out and brought Regina's mouth back to hers. The lights in the house flickering as they found wholeness in each other.

But as fast as those future imagines came to Regina, they were gone. Leaving her with the choice; going back to her old vengeful Evil Queen days, settling for some comfort and happiness with a sweet outlaw, or traveling the long, twisty road to get her family back, with would bring her love, and so much more. No mater how rough the path in front of her was, the answer was clear, and without knowing it her answer left her mouth as she opened her eyes and found her future staring deeply into her.

"Emma."

So much had followed after that, but Regina wasn't in a place to comprehend it all. Her mind was too busy processing everything she had just seen. She knew what she had to do, but with Henry and Emma being right there in front of her made it that much harder. She had to let them go? Why can't that future be with them now? Why couldn't she take both their hands and flee to this extraordinary happily ever after she had just seen? But Regina knew better. The only way to have a choice of that life was to make them go, if not, that life wouldn't even be a possibility.

More fuzziness filled her brain as time went on. Regina told Henry and Emma what was to be done, but the pain in her loved ones eyes ate at Regina's soul. Could she live with so much pain and make it through, or would she succumb to her old villainous ways. Regina wanted to believe she had the strength to push through all the pain and loneliness, but again, looking back at her past showed otherwise. But that was the old Regina, this Regina, was wiser and stronger.

Although Regina had come to believe that she, Emma, and Henry could make it to that beautiful future, she needed to do everything she could in that moment to at least secure their happiness as they came to a halt at the town line. With that in the back if her mind at all times, it would help her overcome any dreadful or confusing obstacle that approached her in the Enchanted Forest, delaying their reunion.

"Emma, there's something I haven't told you."

"What now?" Emma asked, but not in the usual annoyed, what the hell did you do this time way she used to ask, but a lonely, defeated way, only reassuring Regina that she needed to give Emma the most beautiful, significant memories she could conjure.

Surprisingly, it wasn't hard to do so, because those memories she would be given Emma would be her own memories of Henry. The joy she felt when she first held her son, the excitement she expressed with his first steps, the overly proud parent when he brought home his first perfect report card, and more. But there was something else Regina was going to do, and even though she was unsure if it would actually work, she knew she had to at least try. Henry may not have been her birth son, but he did pick up a few of Regina's habits and mannerisms over the years. And since rushing up and forcing true loves kiss when she and Emma would first reunite was so tacky and would most likely delay that happy ending more, she thought highlighting all those habits and mannerisms Henry picked up from her, along with the small object she tucked away in between Emma's glove and jacket as she held her hand would hopefully trigger the Savior's memory and reunite them all again some day.

As the magic escaped Regina's fingers, she closed her eyes picturing that joyous future she had been given a glimpse of. Henry smiling at her as he left the kitchen, and Emma jerking her close so they could feel each others lips, Regina never feeling something so complete in her life. She couldn't help but turn around once more as the scrappy yellow bug began to diminish from the purple haze engulfing her.

"Remember me," she whispered as she fought against the pull back to her former land, so she could watch her family leave, until they completely disappeared.


End file.
